Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

The 11-member Tax Expenditure Commission has posted a wide array of materials on DOR's website in an effort to make its work as transparent and accessible as possible.
What are tax expenditures? The introduction to the FY13 Tax Expenditure Budget puts it this way:
"In its simplest form, a tax is an across-the-board levy on a base, such as income, to which a specific rate applies and for which no modifications exist. Taxes are rarely levied in this manner, however. Instead, most state tax codes incorporate a number of exemptions, deductions, credits, and deferrals designed to encourage certain taxpayer activities or to limit the tax burden on certain types of individuals or endeavors. Known as 'tax expenditures', these provisions can have a significant impact on state tax revenues."
The FY13 Tax Expenditure Budget (TEB) is more than $26 billion, roughly $4 billion larger than projected FY13 revenues of nearly $22 billion. The Commonwealth collects less in revenue than it has chosen to forego.
The Commission is scheduled to issue a report by April 30. Agendas and minutes from Commission meetings are included on the web page, as are historic looks at TEBs from previous years and TEB's from other states.
The Commission unanimously approved a Statement of Principles (found on the agendas and minutes page) on Feb. 6 which makes it clear that the Commission believes tax expenditures merit regular scrutiny and should be subject to periodic cost-benefit analysis and review by the Executive and Legislative branches.
The eleven members of the commission are its chair, Administration and Finance Secretary Jay Gonzalez, Auditor Suzanne Bump, Treasurer Steven Grossman, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Brian Dempsey, Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Stephen Brewer, House Revenue Committee Chair Jay Kaufman, Senate Revenue Committee Chair Katherine Clark, Rep. Steven Levy (designee of House Minority Leader Brad Jones), Sen. Michael Knapik (designee of Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr), Alan Clayton-Matthews (member of the Governor's Council of Economic Advisers), and James Stock (also a member of the Governor's Council of Economic advisers).

Friday, March 9, 2012

During the tour, town officials answered residents’ questions, the most common of which concerned the field house. The new school would not have a field house because the state does not pay for such buildings, and putting up a new field house would be a multi-million dollar project entirely paid for by taxpayers, officials explained.

The current field house is structurally damaged.

Some residents complained about poor maintenance, but officials countered that, saying a substantial part of the state funding for the proposed new school comes from noted good maintenance.

“We got a bonus from the (state building authority) for good maintenance,” Nutting said. “This has been maintained, but it’s worn out.”

Project contingency and owners contingency amount to a total of $4.5M. This money is already built into the total to cover for unexpected costs and avoid any other cost increases.

What is included in the "non-reimbursable" costs?
There is an allowance for site work and anything above that is non-reimbursable. The State wants to put their money into the building and let the local community choose to do the rest.

Note: I was able to watch via the live internet feed but connected as the Public Hearings got underway.

Sign Bylaw
Bryan Taberner and Beth Dalhstrom presented on the sign bylaw changes. These have been before the Council, went to the Planning Board to be formally reviewed and approved there and are now back before the Council. This is the public hearing portion of the cycle and first reading. There will be a second reading before the Council gets to have their final vote on this matter.

Much of the discussion was around the political signs. Frank Falvey stepped up from the audience to speak for the overall intent but against some aspects that would effectively limit 'free speech'.

The Council ended up moving the items to a second reading and in the process did remove the requirement for the political signs to be taken down post election. While there is a current bylaw limiting posting signs before and after an election, this new bylaw effectively removes those restrictions.

There was also discussion about the 'banner' signs and whether the Town could still post their banner sign on the railroad bridge to announce special events. Government signs are exempt from the bylaw. The bylaw applies to all signs by businesses and citizens.

Annual Audit
The annual audit was reviewed with nothing of significance to note. Franklin is delinquent in putting together a more formal risk policy but from my point of view while this would be a good ting to do, it does require people to do this and Franklin is not about to add staff for this nicety when there are so many other pressing needs. Frank Falvey again stepped forward to speak on the amount of time the audit results are delayed. The books for the fiscal year effectively close on June 30 and we are hear 8 months later getting results of the audit.

If something did come up along the way of the audit, notification would be raised at the time. The books are only available to the auditors in Sep (and that is likely due to the already short staffing situation). If we wanted to do business differently, we would need to staff accordingly.

Remote Participation
This was approved as discussed for the Town Council and its subcommittees. Each other body (School Committee, etc.) could model their policy after this but this doc only relates to the Town Council operations.

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 12-14: Authorization to Borrow-repairs and remodeling to various school buildings, painting a tank, upgrades to the water plant, new water lines and engineering motion to approve, passed 9-0

2. Resolution 12-15: Designation of “Special Municipal Employee” Under State Ethics Law
addition of the committee members from the Citizens Committee and Master Plan Committee under the indemnification protections of Franklin, as is done with other committee members.motion to approve, passed 9-0

3. Resolution 12-16: Master Plan Committee – Amended
a technical adjustment as the original resolution did not include the number of committee membersmotion to approve, passed 9-0

Senator Karen Spilka hosted members of Cub Scouts Pack 126 from Franklin today during their visit to the Massachusetts State House.

Upon arriving this afternoon, the Scouts were given an official tour of the State House. Following their tour, they met with Senator Spilka and Representative James Vallee at the Grand Staircase for a group photo.

The Cub Scouts and their chaperones then accompanied Senator Spilka and Representative Vallee to the Senator's office where they enjoyed snacks and a fun conversation with the Senator.

The visit was arranged by Senator Spilka's office with the Cub Scouts.

Under the state option, board members who intend to use remote participation must explain their absence under certain categories, such as military service, illness or geographic distance.

The town will test remote participation first with speaker phone, instead of video conferencing, and restrict use to one member per meeting and only within the Council chambers, on the second floor of the municipal building. Members must notify the chairman of their committee at least four hours before the meeting, and subcommittees will not be allowed to use remote participation.

Information from February's supplemental FY12 budget has been added to MassBudget's interactive Budget Browser. This includes:

$21.2 million to help low-income seniors and families with their home-heating bills (in line-item 7004-1000)

An additional $35.0 million for adult day health services (4000-0600)

A new $20.4 million Information Technology fund, to improve IT across a range of state agencies (1599-4380)

The budget browser allows you to see how funding has been allocated among the major budget categories (health care, education, environment, housing, and more)--and to track spending for any line-item or any group of line-items.

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

The recent boys basketball game between Franklin and Mansfield is a perfect example of why we will vote YES to build a new high school. The FHS field house was packed with folks of all ages from both towns. Like us, many of the adults who came to watch didn't have kids on the team or even at the high school any more. It was just a chance to cheer for a common goal and show the power of community spirit and pride. What other activities attract people of all ages in the same place for an entertainment event? The energy was exciting and unifying

Thank you for your interest in the Franklin Earth Day event on April 22nd, 2012! For over 10 years, the Town of Franklin has conducted this event in an effort to educate the public on recycling, beautification, and general clean up of the town. This year, we are taking online registration for those folks looking to lock in a location in Town that they are interested in cleaning. Please select the area in town you are interested in cleaning and let us know specifics about your planned clean up. Gloves and trash bags can be picked up ahead of time at the Recreation Dept (150 Emmons St).

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

As your high school experience is coming to a close, it is time to contemplate, plan and make decisions that will affect your future. Part of that process is determining how to pay for a college education. The cost of furthering your education is high but the failure to obtain additional knowledge will cost you even more. Our members understand this and recognize the significant expense and sacrifice that often accompanies its pursuit. With this in mind the Rotary Club of Franklin, as it has for many years, continues to offer graduating high school seniors from Franklin, Tri–County, King Phillip, and Medway High Schools an opportunity to receive scholarships to offset the expense of higher education.

The Rotary Club is an international service organization that is dedicated to world peace through service to others and an increased awareness of people’s needs through education. Based on this premise, each application for the Franklin Rotary Club Scholarship is evaluated on the basis of community involvement, financial need, and academic achievement.

To apply for a Scholarship please go to the Rotary Club of Franklin website http://www.franklinrotaryma.org. Click on to “Rotary Scholarships” and fully complete an application.

Monday, March 5, 2012

This is an important reminder regarding the upcoming vote on March 27 for the new high school.

If you are NOT registered to vote, the last day to register for this election is this Wednesday, March 7!

In this election, Franklin voters will have the chance to support the construction of a fully furnished and equipped 21st century high school and auditorium for our community. Voters will be asked to approve borrowing for a modern, new facility that will cost $47 million. The new high school is based on a state-approved model school design and will be open to students in the fall of 2014. For more information on the high school project, please visit: www.newfhs.com.

You can register at the Franklin Town Clerk's office in the Municipal Building at 355 East Central Street. Additionally, following is information on voting by absentee ballot.

Please pass this along to your friends and neighbors! Thank you!

How to Vote by Absentee Ballot

If you will be physically unable to vote on March 27, you can vote by absentee ballot starting on March 7 and at any time up to noon on Monday, March 26.

There are several convenient ways to obtain and vote by absentee ballot. You can do so in person at the Town Clerk's Office. Or, you can vote by mail. Here's how:

· Complete the form appropriate for you (the voter or family member). Be sure to check off the "Election Box" in Section 1 and write in the date of March 27.

· Hand-deliver or mail the completed from to the Town Clerk's Office, Municipal Building, 355 East Central Street, Franklin, MA, 02038. Forms must be received in the Town Clerk's Office by Noon, March 26. Since original signatures are required, ballot applications cannot be faxed or emailed.

· The Absentee Ballot will be mailed to you or your family member after March 7.

· Ballots will be mailed to the voter with two envelopes. After making your YES vote on the ballot, place the ballot in the smaller, brown envelope and sign it. Insert the smaller envelope in the bigger, white envelope. Place two 1st-class stamps on it and mail it.

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

FRANKLIN, Mass. – The Franklin School Building Committee will be hosting an information session on the proposed new Franklin High School and providing tours of the current high school on Thursday, March 8. Starting at 6 p.m. tours of the current facility will be offered by members of the Franklin School Committee and others. This [...]

“There is such a variety of fireworks, so it would be very difficult to monitor what exactly they’re firing off,” Goodale said. “We have solid guidelines and regulations for burning brush, but it would be difficult with fireworks.”

Franklin Fire Chief Gary McCarraher said tragic accidents result from fireworks, including burns, loss of limbs and sight.

“We have to factor all these injuries into the debate over fireworks. They have a large impact,” McCarraher said. “It’s always difficult to offset tragedies with creating jobs and bringing in revenue. It’s not worth the risk.”